The current issue of RELA (European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults) contains various perspectives on how adults teach and learn. The topics of this issue range from inclusion of youth with a low educational level in the offering of adult education and training, to the self-perception of adult educators, to learning through self-help books. Reinhard Zürcher, who works as an associate at the Pedagogical University of Vienna, contributed an Austrian perspective, writing on his research on the teaching-learning continuum. More...

The gamification of reality by the implementation of educational games and learning by using simulations, especially business simulations, is one of the possibilities to improve adult‘s education process, to make it not only suitable to the needs of today’s learner, to the variety of their learning styles, but also to reach higher effectiveness of learning itself. The seminar „Study process improving by integrating business simulations“organized by the Lithuanian Quality Management and Innovations Association together with Virtonomics (Simulation for Education) on 19th of May was devoted for the theoretical and practical justification of these ideas. More...

Just two thirds of adults achieved the 'expected level of attainment' for a primary school leaver, study finds.
According to research almost a third of British parents would fail to reach the minimum standards of spelling expected for 11-year-olds. The study involving 1,000 adults aged between 16 and 77 found that only 67 per cent would reach Level 4 in Standard Assessment Tests (SATs). More...

Improving prison education will help to cut crime and reduce the cost of reoffending, according to campaigners, Tes reports.
The Prisoner Learning Alliance (PLA) which represents 23 organisations including the Association of Colleges, the Open University and the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, has today urged ministers to give education a greater priority in prisons to help reduce the cost of repeat offending, which is estimated to be between £9 billion to £13 billion a year. More...

A new study suggests that UK nations have the biggest skills gaps between young people who are not in education, employment or training and those in work, the BBC reports.
They had the widest literacy gap out of 22 countries included in an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) analysis.
They also had the biggest gap in problem-solving skills, says the study. More...

The draft is now available to download here directly from UNESCO's site. It takes into account the three key domains of adult learning and education: literacy and basic skills; continuing training and professional development; and education and learning opportunities for active citizenship. It is the final phase of the revision of the 1976 Recommendation on the Development of Adult Education requested by the Belém Framework for Action. More...

Estonian Minister of Education and Research Jürgen Ligi and Chinese Vice Minister of Education Li Weihong signed an agreement on mutual recognition of higher education qualifications, promoting cooperation and student exchanges between higher education institutions in Estonia and China.
The agreement was signed on 27th of April in Rīga, during the 5th Asia-Europe Education Ministers´ Meeting. More...

The recent ASEM Forum on Lifelong Learning in Bali in March 2015 gave a fresh impetus for renewing the agenda for lifelong learning. On the basis of the Forum, the ASEM LLL Hub Secretariat has recommended the following. More...

Open Educational Resources have become an integral part of adult learning in Europe. However, many issues concerning quality, legal frameworks and infrastructures remain unclear. In this context, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research provides funding for research projects on OER in Germany. An expert group coordinated by Deutscher Bildungsserver will analyse the needs for digital infrastructures (e.g. E-platforms) for OER. Wikimedia Deutschland’s project Mapping OER aims at identifying recommendations for questions like quality management, the training of practitioners or business models. More...

Just 14% of adults aged between 25 and 29 are still in education, according the to latest Eurostat research.
The ‘Being young in Europe today’ report highlights a lack of involvement of young people in lifelong learning.
The publication gives us some new data on young people aged 15–29 in the EU, and one of the aspects covered is young people’s participation in education. More...